Falling Hard
by Bittersweet Masquerade
Summary: Haruko is new a Duel Academy. She's a tom boy in all aspects and she refuses to follow the latest trends. She's a rebel. On her first day at school she nearly falls off a cliff but is rescued at the last second. She didn't know that she also fell in love.
1. Meeting Haruko

**This is my first story so don't flame me too harshly…**

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"Attention, please. The plane has now landed on Duel Academy. We hope you enjoyed your flight, and we hope you enjoy your year here at Duel Academy." 

A girl sitting in the back of the plane was jolted awake by the voice coming over the intercom. She blinked her dark green eyes and pushed a lock of her dark brown hair out of her face. She looked out of the window as she stood, watching the other new students as they got off of the plane excitedly.

_'Sure, I'll have a great time,'_ She thought, her thought's voice filling with sarcasm. It wasn't that she didn't want to be here, she loved dueling with a passion. But the way she was given the opportunity wasn't the way she wanted it to come. In short, she had been semi-forced by her parents to come to Duel Academy, all because they didn't want to have to take care of her.

She got off of the plane last, looking for anyone wearing the color red. As soon as she heard, "Slifers, over here!" she looked. She walked over to the crowd of people in red, eyeing the other people who had been put into the Slifer dorm. A small group of girls in the mandatory girl's uniform of sleeveless shirts and mini-skirts were looking over at her and whispering.

"Bitches," the girl muttered to herself.

She had on the same shirt as them, but instead of the skirt she had on a pair of red pants. As soon as she had seen what girls had to wear, she knew she had to get out of wearing it. She couldn't change the shirt, but she was able to get pants instead of a skirt.

When she finally snapped out of thought, she noticed that everyone had left.

_'They must've already gotten their dorms.'_ She thought. Then a teacher walked up to her, followed by a boy who was a slightly taller than her, with brown hair and bright brown eyes.

"Haruko Izukaro?" The teacher asked his voice accented.

"Yup, that's me," Haruko replied.

"Well, it seems like there are an odd number of students."

"So I don't have any roomates?"

"You don't mind, do you?" The teacher asked worriedly.

Haruko shrugged. "It's fine. I don't mind."

"I asked Jayden to show you around here."

The boy that the teacher referred to as Jaden punched the air in triumph. "Let's go!"

She was suddenly grabbed by her wrist and dragged over to the dorm building. She could barely keep up and almost tripped as he sprinted up the stairs and ran into the room, which already had two other occupants.

"Syrus! Chumly! This is… uhhh…" Jaden stammered, trying to think of the name. Then he turned to Haruko with a cheesy grin. "Hey, what was your name again?"

"It's Haruko." She said in a non-surprised tone.

"Right! This is Haruko! Haruko, up in the bunk bed is Chumly," He said referring to the big mass, "And over at the desk is Syrus." He pointed to the small boy with blue hair and glasses.

Haruko smiled shyly. " It's nice to meet you all."

Haruko set her stuff down on the semi-comfortable looking fold up bed she immediately assumed was for her. Just as she lied down and was about to zone out into her thoughts, Jaden jerked her upright. "Hey Haruko, Syrus and I are gonna look around the island. You wanna come with us?"

Haruko shrugged again. "Sure, why not. Is Chumly coming along?"

"He already fell asleep," Syrus finally said, his voice high pitched and shy sounding.

Haruko wasn't able to say anything more because she was, once again, dragged off the bed by Jaden, who was also dragging Syrus.

_'God, does he ever run out of energy?!'_ She thought, but she thought it was actually quite interesting. Somehow, she had the feeling that her year at Duel Academy wasn't going to be so boring at all.

**

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How'd I do? Constructive criticism is taken…**

**Review?**


	2. Fitting In

**Okay, I fixed everything and I really hope this is better! If not I'm open to suggestions.**

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Haruko hastily followed after the high-spirited Jaden as he rushed around the school campus, Syrus tailing after him as well. As they viewed the entire island, Haruko couldn't help but appreciate the landscape and the view of the ocean. It relaxed her, making her want to open up for a change instead of constantly having her walls of defense up. 

Jadens voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Helloooooooo? Earth to Haruko, are you alive in there?"

She looked at him, and immediately realized why her attention was being called. Another guy was standing next to Jaden, with slicked back black hair and gray eyes. He wore the golden yellow colors of the Ra dorm.

"Now we get your attention." Jaden continued, "Haruko, this is Bastion Misawa. Bastion, meet Haruko!"

"A pleasure to meet you," The boy said, offering his hand. He sounded very formal, but Haruko wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"Same," Was her reply.

So they all continued on their own little tour of the academy. Haruko watched them all as they chatted and laughed at jokes, wishing she could allow herself to join in. But she couldn't. Her problems with trust never really allowed her to open up to others, and today unfortunately was no exception. That and everything that had happened to her in her past…

**Flashback:**

"You worthless piece of crap! Can't you do anything right?" Her mother screamed, as she was in another one of her tirades. Little Haruko just stood there, her head hung down and her eyes empty. She had learned a long time ago not to cry, since it only made her mother angrier.

Her mother raised her hand and smacked her on the side of her head hard, and Haruko fell to the floor. And she just laid there for the rest of the night, even after her mother had finally finished yelling at her, the emptiness in her eyes having never left.

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She walked down the halls, the only thing on her mind being to get to class on time. Many students watched her as she went by. In whispers, they gossiped to their own friends. 

"God, she's so weird."

"What a freak!"

"It's no wonder she doesn't have any friends. Who would want to be her friend?"

The whispers no longer hurt Haruko. She had heard them all a million times before. So she just kept walking, no expressions on her face.

**End Flashback**

As she had been deep in her thoughts once again, Haruko didn't notice that Jaden and the others had stopped and were looking at her. They wore the faces of curiosity and slight concern.

Haruko tried to look surprised. "What? Did I miss something?"

Syrus was the first one to speak. "No, but you've barely spoken at all since you arrived."

"So were curious to get to know you," Jaden finished for him.

'_Oh boy, I should've known this was coming._' Haruko immediately prepared herself for any questions that may shock her.

Bastion asked the first question. "How come you don't have a skirt on like all the other girls?"

That was an easy question. "Well, I'm not a big fan of skirts. But none of the teachers know that I don't have a skirt on, except for the one in charge of the Slifer dorm, although it seems like he either didn't notice or didn't care."

"Then where did you get the pants from?"

"I stole them long before coming here."

All the boys looked at Haruko as if she was mad. Then Jaden started laughing.

"Haruko, that's genius! I like that!"

Haruko smiled. "Why thank you."

"Well, lookie here. A bunch of Slifer nobodies."

Jaden, Syrus, Bastion and Haruko all turned to see yet _another_ person. He also had jet black hair, but it was spiky instead of slicked back like Bastions. He had gray eyes that were filled with arrogance and no kindness.

The boy continued. "I can't believe this school lets a bunch a slackers like you run around here, as if you're all a big deal. It's pathetic."

Haruko had already had enough of this guy. "Well, I don't see any slackers. All I see is a jerk with a big ego!"

Everyone looked at Haruko as if she had just walked through fire. She then turned to Jaden, Bastion and Syrus. "Come on guys, let's get out of here."

She walked away from where they were, which was in front of the main building. As they were walking, Syrus came up next to Haruko.

"Wow, I can't believe you stood up to Chazz like that. You've got a lot of guts."

"It's not necessarily guts, I just couldn't stand him." Haruko replied. They all stopped at a cliff where they were about to sit down and relax. Then the unthinkable happened.

Haruko was just turning around so she could face the others when she stepped on something big. The thing moved at lightning speed, causing her to lose her balance and start falling backwards. Everyone had an expression of fear, and Haruko soon realized why when she was expecting to hit the ground. She was about to fall off of the cliff instead!

"HARUKO!!!" The boys screamed in unison.

Haruko screamed a blood-curdling scream. '_Shit! I'm going to die, and I was just about to make friends…_'

It took Haruko about two seconds until she realized that she wasn't falling anymore. Her feet dangled above the very high drop, and she looked down and watched rocks that had been broken off the cliff plunge into the rough ocean.

She looked up to see a guy who had a hold of her by her wrists. The guy who had saved her.

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**Any better? I'm still open to suggestions…**


	3. Meeting Zane

**Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I last updated, but life in general has been tough, so yeah. I hope you like the next part.**

**DISCLAIMER!!! (Yes, I finally remembered the disclaimer) I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX, except for Haruko.**

"Stay calm, and whatever you do, don't try to move or look down," The boy holding Haruko's wrists said calmly. The position of the sun made it hard for Haruko to see his face, but she noted his spiky, longish hair.

You heard the frantic voices of Jaden, Syrus and Bastion as they tried to help the other boy pull Haruko up from the cliff. It wasn't hard, since she was pretty lightweight, and she was soon brought to safety.

Now that Haruko was out of danger, she could see the face of her rescuer. The boy had a very mature face, with eyes that were a grayish blue. His hair was a dark shade of blue, and he was very tall. He wore the Obelisk Blue uniform, like the guy who they had met before, Chazz.

"Are you okay now?" The boy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Haruko replied, her voice still a little shaky.

"HARUKO!!!" Jaden ran up to you and pulled you into a death grip hug. You could feel yourself starting to turn blue.

"You had us so worried, we thought you were so done for! If Zane hadn't come along, you surely would have died."

"Naw, you think?" Haruko replied sarcastically.

'_So Zane is his name, huh?_' She thought, having finally acquired the boy's name.

"I was only coming along this way to make sure Syrus hadn't gotten lost yet," Zane said in a slightly cold voice.

Syrus turned a slight shade of pink. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much!"

Zane only smirked, then he turned to Haruko. "Make sure you don't fall off anymore cliffs. I won't be there to catch you every time."

"Yeah, whatever."

Then Zane simply turned and walked away. Haruko was burning on the inside.

'_God, what a total jerk!_' She thought, '_But, there's something about him that doesn't make me hate him so much…_'

Then a question came to her mind. "Hey, did anyone happen to see what I tripped on? I only remember stepping on something big and kinda squishy, and then it was gone like that."

"OHHHH!!!" Jaden cried. "You tripped over Pharaoh."

"Who?"

All three guys pointed to her right, and she turned her head. Off in that direction was a cat sitting on the sun, cleaning itself. It was a tan color with stripes on its back, and the cat was very fat. It looked up from its cleaning in Haruko's direction, let out a loud meow, and went back to cleaning itself.

"That's Pharaoh," Syrus said. "He's Professor Banner's cat."

Haruko nodded, then said, "Well, I now know one thing."

"What's that?" All three guys asked.

"I've never seen a fat cat run so fast."

There was a quick moment of silence, then everyone started laughing, even Bastion. They all laughed for a couple minutes, then Syrus said, "Wow, that's the first time I've seen you laugh, Haruko."

Haruko smiled a small smile. "Yeah, I know. I do have a sense of humor, you just haven't gotten to know me that much yet."

All four of them started walking back to the Slifer dorm, and along the way Haruko became lost in thought again, only this time it was different.

'_Wow, I feel myself actually starting to open up to these guys. I've never felt this kind of happiness before, and they all seem so friendly, but is this for real?_' A battle between her happiness and her doubt raged inside of her. And every now and then, Zane came to mind. What was it about him?

**I know it wasn't that long, but I don't have a lot of time today. **

**Any reviews?**

**Later!**


	4. Cruel Intentions

**Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait! It's been pretty hard for me to find some inspiration to continue with the story, but I've finally decided to take a crack at it. Please don't murder me if it's too short or if something is wrong!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX, only Haruko, but how freaking sweet would that be if I did?!? XD**

"Haruko, pay attention! What factors contribute to summoning a ritual monster?"

Haruko snapped out of her daydream and answered the question in a dull tone of voice. "By the level of a monster or if two certain monsters are specified."

Crowler smiled. "Not bad for a Slifer."

It had only been a few days since the classes had started, and Doctor Crowler's class by far was the most boring that Haruko had ever had to sit through. Not only was it terribly easy for her, but it was hard to have to look at the teacher. Every day Haruko wondered if a surgery had gone horribly wrong, or if he was just born ugly.

After Crowler's bore fest of a class, there was nothing else to do except wait for dinner. So Haruko joined up with Jaden and Syrus just to hang out.

"Tell me, do you think Crowler's class was more boring than usual or am I imagining things?" Haruko started.

Jaden replied, "Yeah, it was pretty basic stuff today. Pretty hard to concentrate."

"Dude, it's always hard for when I keep wondering if Crowler is a transvestite."

This got the guys laughing, Haruko laughing along with them. She was beginning to warm up to her new friends, even though she still worried about possible betrayal. After all, it wouldn't be the first time she had been betrayed by someone she thought to be a friend.

_Flashback_

"_Hey, how come you always sit by yourself?"_

_A ten year old Haruko looked up to see a girl her age looking at her curiously and actually talking to her._

"_Because nobody wants to play with me," she replied._

"_Well, I'll play with you silly! My name is Saki," The girl said, extending her hand to Haruko._

"_I'm Haruko," She replied and took the offered gesture._

_Four years later_

"_Hey Saki, are you coming to get ice cream with me?" Haruko asked._

"_Why would I want to?"_

_Haruko turned to her best friend in disbelief. "What do you mean? We always get ice cream together on Fridays after school."_

"_Well, not today. And probably not ever again. I'm going to hang with my new friends, all of whom are way better than you," Saki replied in a cold voice._

_Haruko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this really Saki? Abandoning her for people only because they were older than them both?_

"_But Saki, I don't understand…"_

"_Of course you wouldn't understand. Don't you see Haruko? I've never really liked you from the beginning. Yeah, I used to hang with you sometimes, maybe even actually had fun. But I was only being nice to you, so you would stop acting like such a stupid emo kid. It made me sick!"_

_Haruko felt her heart break at those words. But Saki continued. "You've been nothing but a helpless puppy this whole time to me, always following me around and thinking I'm your best friend. Pathetic! I'm done with you now!" And with that she walked away, not turning back._

_Haruko just stood there with her head hanging low, and cried only a single tear. Then her hatred from long ago came back._

'_I can't trust anyone anymore. No exceptions.' And she walked away._

_End Flashback_

When Haruko came out of her thoughts, Jaden and Syrus were watching her with concerned faces again.

"Haruko, are you sure you're okay?" Syrus asked.

Haruko faked a smile. "Yeah, of course I'm okay! Don't worry about me."

Then they went over to the school building, where they unfortunately ran into Chazz again.

"Jaden, why don't we have a battle to see who really is the best around here?" He said in a snide voice.

"Oh boy, here we go again," Haruko said out loud, remembering at the beginning of the year when Jaden wiped the floor with Chazz.

He turned to her with a look of anger. "You got a problem with that, Punk?" Punk was the affectionate nickname that he had bestowed on Haruko, since she always said what was on her mind, which he never liked.

She shrugged. "Only that we're gonna have to watch another rerun of the last time Jaden kicked your ass."

That really took Chazz over the edge. "Oh yeah?!? Who says I'm gonna lose this time?"

"Jaden is way better at dueling than me, and I could beat you in a match!"

"Well then put your money where your mouth is, and battle me in Jaden's place!"

"Fine, I will!" Haruko replied, realizing a few seconds later what she had gotten herself into.

"Haruko, you're really going to duel Chazz?" Syrus said.

She smirked. "Why not? It's time somebody put him in his place."

So we all went to the duel arena, duel disks ready. Chazz got on one end of the arena as Haruko got on the opposite side.

"Ready to take a butt whooping?" Chazz said.

"No, but I'm really to give you one instead."

"Let's Duel!" They said in unison, and the match was on. Chazz's deck was formidable, but to Haruko it wasn't a big challenge. She had taken years to perfect her deck, which was very strategic for any situation using warrior, magic, and fairy cards. Therefore the battle didn't take that long.

"Disc Fighter, finish off his life points," Haruko said calmly as the battle was wrapped up with that attack.

Chazz was in dismay. "WHAT?!? I lost to a GIRL?!?!?"

Jaden and Syrus whooped and cheered at Haruko's victory, and Haruko closed her eyes and smiled.

'_I've still got the skills,_' she thought. Then she finally felt someone watching her. Someone who wasn't Jaden or Syrus. She looked up in the upper level of the arena and saw Zane looking at her carefully. They're eyes locked for a long moment, then Zane smirked and walked away.

"Was he watching me?" she muttered quietly to herself. A weird feeling crept into her chest, whether it was satisfaction or embarrassment she couldn't tell. Either way, she shook off the feeling and walked back down to be greeted by Jaden and Syrus.

**How was that for the new part? Reviews would be nice, including constructive criticism. I swear I'll try to update more often if my schedule allows me!**

**Later! (But not too much later!)**


	5. Conversations

**Sigh Okay, I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I last updated. That is why I have a request for you as my readers. If I go more than 2 weeks without updating, I really need you to send me constant reminders to update. I'M NOT KIDDING!! Get a hold of me SOMEHOW and tell me that I need to update! Thank you!**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own Haruko, not Yu-Gi-Oh GX.**

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"Haruko, remember when you used your Negate Trap on Chazz during the duel? The look on his face was priceless!" Jaden said with a mouthful of food in his mouth.

Haruko sighed loudly, wiping away the little flecks of food that had come out of Jadens mouth. "Yes, Jaden, I remember. You know, I would rather not see what the remnants of your food look like chewed up."

This only made Jaden laugh out loud, letting more food fly everywhere. Some of the people who were close by had to duck in order to avoid getting hit by the food.

_Jeez, where does he put it all anyways?_ Haruko thought, as she looked at all of the empty plates sitting in front of him. She had only just finished her plate while he was already on a fourth plate. Jaden then noticed what was left on Haruko's plate, a small fudge cookie.

"Hey, are you going to eat that?" He asked, his mouth slightly drooling as he stared at the cookies chocolaty-ness.

Haruko looked right at him with sharp eyes. "Well, of course I'm going to eat it! You pig!"

"Awww, but there aren't any left!"

"That's because you ate almost all of them! This baby's mine!" And with that Haruko ate the cookie in two bites. The look on Jaden's face was one of heartbreak.

Syrus and Chumly watched the event with slight interest, both having witnessed these daily arguments over food many times before. Haruko was the only one among the group who didn't let Jaden have any of her own food when he asked. Sometimes it was actually kind of funny.

Haruko stood up out of her chair. "Alright, I'm done. I'll be out for a little while before I go to bed," she told the others as she walked out of the dining hall.

Stepping outside into the evening air, she breathed in the scent of the salty ocean. It was a warm evening, with a complimenting breeze. Haruko started walking around somewhat aimlessly.

_Now where can I find a place to be alone?_ She wondered. Then she saw a dock with a large lighthouse at the end of it. _Perfect!_

She made her way over to the sighted destination, avoiding any cliffs that she saw. She didn't want a repeat of what happened on her first day of school, especially since she was all alone this time. When she finally did make it to the lighthouse dock, she sat down on the edge, letting her feet dangle over the water. She noticed that there was a beautiful view of the sunset from this spot, as was from almost everywhere on the island.

"Peaceful at last," She sighed to herself as she watched the sunset. Even after the sun had lowered itself below the horizon she sat there enjoying the breeze the ocean breathed onto her. This was the calmest she had felt since her arrival at the academy.

"You know, you probably shouldn't be out here so late."

Haruko tensed at the sudden voice and turned around sharply. Standing behind her was Zane.

She only shrugged. "I guess I lost track of time. I couldn't really help myself."

She stood up from her spot and walked over to Zane. He continued. "Normally I'm alone out in this spot, with the exception of Alexis. So naturally I was surprised to see you had found this spot."

"How come Alexis isn't out here tonight?" Haruko questioned. She knew Alexis, and the two of them were pretty good friends. After all, when surrounded by as much testosterone that Jaden and the others had, it was nice to have a female to talk stuff out with.

"She had to study tonight," was his reply.

"Oh."

They both stood there in a moment of silence, watching the wave's crash into one another. Then Zane spoke again.

"I saw you dueling Chazz today before dinner."

Haruko turned to him and only nodded. "I saw you above us after the duel. I hadn't noticed you during the actual fight."

"Of course."

"What did you think?" Haruko asked out of curiosity.

Zane was quiet for a moment. This silence made Haruko a little nervous, for she didn't know what his reaction was going to be.

Then Zane answered. "Your style is unique, just as much as anyone else's style. However, your style might be a little too patient at times. I would recommend taking an opportunity as soon as it shows up." He stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts, and continued again. "But the good side is that you actually think before you make a move. And I must admit, I commend you for putting Chazz in his place." He smirked. "Chazz has gotten a little cocky lately."

"Tell me about it," Haruko said. "His attitude towards me and Jaden is horrible, and it drives me crazy. I don't see how he thinks that the most important thing in this school is what colors you wear."

Zane nodded. "True. Nonetheless, you have much potential to rise to the top ranks, just like Jaden. Keep trying and making your deck 100 perfect."

Haruko nodded. It was good to receive constrictive criticism from someone who knew what they were talking about.

"Well, I should probably be heading back to my dorm now," Haruko finally said. As she walked, she stumbled and started to fall. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel either concrete or water. But she felt Zane's hand wrap around her wrist before she fell too far.

As soon as she was pulled up, Zane let go. "You should really watch your step, haven't I told you that before?"

Haruko blushed slightly. "Sorry, I can't help it. I'm sort of a klutz."

Zane didn't say anything as he walked away, but she could've sworn she heard him laugh a little bit. Then she headed for her dorm.

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**Okay! Finally finished! Remember, you have to remind me to update if I don't do so within 2 weeks. Reviews would be nice too.**

**Later!**


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